Flow meter



July 1 1924. 1,499,839

V. R. NICHOLSON FLOW METER Filed Oct. 6; 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1

' 1 W3. NTE. 2

`July ,1., 1924. 1,499,839

' V. R. NICHOLSON FLOW METER Filed oct. e, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

rV//f//////// p tion the passage for the fluid is increased in cross sectional area.

'exam le, as by ttin Patented-July 1, 1924.

. 'VICTOR RALPH NICHOLSON', OF COLCHESTER, ENGLAND.

FLOW METER.

Application' led October 8, 1923. Serial No. 886,961.

To all 'whom z't may concern.'

Be it known that I, VICTOR'RALPH NICH- oLsoN, a British subject, and resident of Britannia. Works, Colchester, in the county of Essex, En land, have invented certain new 'and useIu Meters, of which the following is a specifica- 1tion, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an instrumentl for indicatin the rate of flow of fluid and is of that kin in which the iluid is passed throughv a passage say a cylinder and in so doing is adapted by pressure to move-a body or part by which the indicator .is operated in either direct or indirect manner. This body or part I will referto as a. piston but it must be understood that any suitably shaped body may be employed.

The invention can-be carried out in various manners in all of which the ow ofthe liquid will move the piston either against gravity or the pressure or tension of a spring, or both.

According to my invention magnetic 1n uence between the piston and the indicator is employed to move the latter, and the piston and that part of the cylinder in which it is fitted or a device in it are so constructed that as the piston moves from its zero posiadually is may be accomplished in several ways such, for the piston into a slight y tapered cylin er the narrower end of which is the zero position: or the piston could be in a parallel cylinder and have a hole through it fitting over a tapered rod. In the former of these examples the annular space between the peripher of the piston and the inside of the cylin er will increase as the piston moves from zero and in the latter example the space between the rod and the edge of the hole will increase.

It will be understood that if the fluid is under pressure but the flow .is stopped the piston will have an equal -pressure on both its ends, and that it is the diiierence in pressures on the two ends of the piston when the fluid is. flowing that eects the movement by lifting the piston to a position in which its 'weight and the lesser pressure, that .is the pressure on the outlet side, balance the pressure on the inlet side.

Any suitable form of indicator may be l Improvements Vin Flowv used and when the rate of flow is reduced the piston moves under the influence of a spring or by gravit or it may be both, and in so doing causes t e indicator to fall in relation to a scale. a l Two examples of my invention are shown 1n the accompanying drawings in which Fig 1 shows a construction in which a piston 1 is arranged to slide on a rod 2 in a uid passage 3 with inlet and outlet 4 and 5 respectively. This piston is a permanent magnet and adjacent to it an armature 6v is pivoted at 7 in theA case 8. On the spindle of this armature is an indicator 9 moving over a scale 10 of which'a front view is seen in Fig. 2. V

The piston 1 is cylindrical but the passage is slightly tapered so that when the piston rises under the pressure of. fluid the annular space between it and the wall of the passage increases. This is clearly seen at 11. v

In this form the pressure of fluid acts upon the lower end of the piston to a greater extent than it does on the uprelll end when the fluid is allowed to flow. s lifts the gisten to a distance pro ortionate to the ilerence in pressures. IVh rises its magnetic effect on the armature is to turn it on its pivot and thus raise the indicator. Conversely the fall of the piston has the eiect of reversing the movement of the armature and indicator. i

Fi 3 shows a somewhat similar construcrtion ut in this case the piston 12 is a close but easy tit in the cylinder 13 and is slidably mounted on a tapered spindle 14. The fluid enters below the piston as in Fig. 1 `but passes through the annular opening 15 in the piston between it and the spindle the area of the space between the piston and the spindle increases as the piston rises. The piston is magnetized and acts on the armature 16 in the manner described with relation to Fig. 1. The front view of the device seen in Fig. 2 is a plicable to both the constructions seen in lgs. land 2.

What I claim is 1. In an instrument for indicating the rate of flow of liquid, a cylinder, a piston operative in the cylinder under the pressure of liquid and comprising a permanent magnet, and an indicator influenced in the movement of said piston magnet, the piston passage in the cylinder bein of variable cross sectional area between t e limits of movement of the piston magnet.

en the piston susI , mcreasin lnlllsid Wit su tantially :that of the magnetic piston, an armature pivoted beyond t e casing and 1o open to the'infiuence ofthe magnetic piston in the movement of the letter, and en indicator operated by said armature.

3. A fiow meter comprising a casing havingl a Huid paage therein, said passe 15 being of increasingsectional ares. in the 1- its minimum cross sectional area rection of flow of the liquid, e magnetic armature arran ed in the casing beyond the passage and in uenced by the magnetic 'pis ton and an indicator movable in the end connected to the armature.

In Witness whereofv l have hereunto set my hand in presence of e Witness.

VECTOR RALPH NHOLSON. Witness: I

HY FAnznoTHnn. 

